


Career Help

by HueyDeweyLouise



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: (I don't want to spoil it), Advice, Alternative Exercise, Developing Friendships, Dialogue Heavy, Friendship, Gen, Not Phantom Planet Compliant, Whether it's good or bad is up to you, badger cereal, lying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-11 20:25:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5640721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HueyDeweyLouise/pseuds/HueyDeweyLouise
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny's halfway through his senior year at Casper High when he realizes he doesn't know what he wants to do with his life. His dream of being an astronaut dashed by bad grades (as a result of fighting ghosts) and a fear of college-level physics, he goes to Vlad for "alternative" career advice.<br/>I mean, he really doesn't have anyone else to turn to. </p>
<p>Not Phantom Planet complaint, set in alternate reality where life continued as normal, Vlad remained mayor, and Danny's parents still don't know he's Phantom.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Vlad?”

Even though Danny can’t see him, the groan/sigh that he hears is distinctively irritated. It puts the ghost boy’s hackles up- he had scheduled this meeting in advance, worked up for days to even consider it, and now Vlad’s just going to blast him out the door anyway. Despite the uneasy truce that’s formed, the two halfas aren’t exactly on ‘good terms’ - they came to blows just a month ago. Though it’s less about “you can’t take over the world” and more “it would be wrong to overshadow people to get yourself re-elected, Vlad.”

“Daniel, what an _unwelcome surprise_.” And okay, maybe Danny shouldn’t have given a fake name, but Vlad would have cancelled the meeting as soon as he noticed it. Which is why Danny took care to call when Vlad was out of the office so his assistant would pick it up. “Care to tell me why you set up this sham of a meeting?”

“I’m hoping it will be less of a sham, and more of a conversation,” Danny says weakly, gathering up the courage to go around the corner and actually face Vlad. Because though Vlad isn’t really all that scary, and Danny’s been fighting a lot worse for a lot longer, the situation makes Danny distinctly uncomfortable.

He’s asking for help. From his _archenemy._

Vlad looks up when Danny enters - and he actually does have to look up. Even though Vlad is standing at the window, phone in hand, Danny has grown quite a lot since his ‘Inviso-Bill’ days. Sam theorized that the accident set back his growth spurt by about two years, just enough time for him to shoot up like a weed - a Jack Fenton height weed - right before the start of Senior year. Only now Danny’s halfway through his final year of high school, and he’s filled out to look quite a lot more like Dash - or Dan.

Danny tries not to think too hard about that part.

Vlad’s eyes narrow. “What kind of conversation?” he asks skeptically.

“The advice kind?” Danny offers sheepishly, “I mean, you know a lot more about the business world than I do, and I can’t ask Jazz for help since she’s stuck on Step One, and my parents don’t really understand-”

“Speak plainly, my boy,” Vlad interrupts, but his body posture is more open, and his shoulders are down, so Danny relaxes a little. He’s not going to get shot today.

“I don’t think I’m going to college.” Vlad’s eyes widen. He’s probably never thought about it, Danny figures. Vlad probably was under the impression that Danny would be in high school forever, in Amity forever, and that they’d never have physical distance as a reason not to fight.

“Don’t _think_? What makes you say that?” Vlad gestures to the open armchairs on the opposite side of the room and makes his way over. Danny settles into the one across from Vlad’s before he speaks again.

“My grades aren’t good enough for state school. Not with still having to hide... everything. I’m out practically every night. Senior year homework and college apps are no cakewalk. Not that school ever was, for me. And with Jazz at Yale, the Fenton Family college fund is running low. I’d end up with more debt than I could deal with. And-” Danny stops before he mentions his last reason. As he mulls over how to phrase his lack of interest in yet another four years of schooling, Vlad steps in.

“Have you considered Community College? Though the local one is probably not to your liking, you could easily find a work/study program in another city, state, or abroad.” Danny’s almost genuinely surprised that Vlad offers his advice so freely. Almost, because he remembers how much Vlad wanted him as a son.

“No. But-”

“You think college may not be right for you. That it would be much like high school has been, a drain on you emotionally and physically. A waste of time, when you could move forward with your life right away.”

Well, no one ever said Vlad wasn’t perceptive. He continues, “College is not right for everyone. While I don’t believe that is particularly true for you, you don’t have to attend university right away, either. There is no shame in taking the time you need to find your own path,” Vlad levels Danny with a dangerous glare, “that said, I don’t believe your path should be blindly wasting your life on acts of useless heroism, either.”

Danny’s gaze hardens in response. Vlad and he have never agreed on Danny’s ‘moral’ choices, hence why they have been archenemies for so long. Their value systems have not changed. That said, Danny does kind of see where Vlad is coming from. He can’t stay and protect Amity forever. His body can’t take it, let alone his mind.

After a short staring contest, Vlad leans back in his armchair and deliberately blinks once. “But you mentioned business, yes?”

Was that... surrender? From Vlad? Danny realizes that Vlad probably was just ceding the point. There’s no use arguing about something so tired between them. “Yeah,” Danny responds, “I was wondering about entering the workforce with _out_ a college degree. I don’t have any,” Danny swirls the words in his mouth, “marketable skills, but I feel like that might be my next best step.”

Vlad snorts. Inelegantly, Danny feels he should point out. Vlad doesn’t _do_ inelegant. He’s wearing a suit that costs more than five times Danny’s yearly allowance and his hair is perfectly styled back into a low ponytail.

“No marketable skills? Daniel, ghost powers notwithstanding-” Danny’s heart rate spikes, and it must show on his face because Vlad adds, “Oh please, my office is soundproof. _Ghost powers notwithstanding,_ you are an intelligent man with a bright future in many careers. An obvious one- though I don’t recommend it - is professional fighting. You have years of combat training under your belt that would be easily applicable to many fields, including the military and law enforcement. Either fit quite nicely with your desire to do ‘the right thing’ as you say.”

Danny’s speechless. Vlad’s smirking. Danny files away the advice to go over later, then strives to wipe the smug look off his arch enemy's face. “Or I could use my powers to steal and cheat my way to the top, like you did.”

Vlad’s smile doesn’t even twitch. “Oh please. I bought every bank I stole from, and every company I ‘acquired’ came from people with moral compass far more skewed than mine.”

“So what, you’re the Robin Hood that stole from the rich and gave to himself? Real original, Vlad.”

“Oh, no, I’d never deign to call myself a thief. But speaking of, let’s talk about applications of your powers. Because I believe that might actually be why you’re here.”

“I told you, I want advice about what to do-”

“After high school, yes, but you could have asked any capable adult in your community. Your teachers, perhaps. Even if Jazz is hung up on the idea of you _not_ attending a four year university, she still would have offered you her two cents. No, you’re here, and your slinking in your chair-” Danny sits straight automatically, “-because you want to know how to _take advantage_ of your powers in the real world.”

Vlad smile isn’t so much smug as blinding now. Danny’s kind of pissed, but Vlad’s not wrong. It feels kind of like betrayal, to himself, that Danny ever considered not taking the ‘hard work’ route to success. But then he thinks about all the setbacks that his ghost powers have caused him, and he doesn’t feel so bad about it.

“My, you are turning out to be more like me with every day.”

And now he does. Danny settles Vlad with a peeved glare, but doesn’t let his ‘scary eyes’ out. “Shut up, Vlad. I’m nothing like you.”

Vlad’s smile dims a little at that. Serves him right, Danny thinks. Smug bastard. “Well,” Vlad says, unsubtly switching gears, “let’s talk about your options, shall we?”

“Career options?”

“Sure, if you’d like to use that term. I’ve already covered professional fighting, though I believe that might be too big of a risk.”

“Why?” Danny’s not seriously considering becoming a professional wrestler, he likes his brain where it is, thanks, but he’s curious.

“You’ve trained yourself in combat using every available resource. There’s a high chance that in a fight, if you get in a tough spot, you may reflexively use your ghost powers. While that’s not usually a problem in a high school confrontation, on live television it could be a disaster.”

Vlad has a point. “Law Enforcement?” Danny asks.

“A viable option, though I think it may require you to relocate to a neighborhood where you are - less infamous, shall we say. Similar risks to professional fights, though lower stress so you aren’t taxed on your powers quite as hard.”

Danny’s not so sure about the ‘lower stress’ part. He’s not so sure he wants a day job that gets him shot as often as his night one, either.

“I’ll consider it, thanks. What else?” And though he doesn’t sound it, he is kind of grateful that Vlad is taking him seriously.

“Politics?” Danny snorts.

“Hardly.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Because - I don’t have any persuasivey-ness and I don’t really understand law!”

Vlad scoffs. “Please, politics is not about _law_. It’s about _getting your way_ by any means necessary. It would also allow you to be helping people, if not in a more subtle way.”

“Pass.”

“You could also use overshadowing to give yourself an edge.”

“ _Pass, Plasmius.”_

“I could offer you an internship in the mayoral office, if you’d like to-” Danny throws his hands up in the air.

“Why do I even bother?! You’re just-”

“All right, let’s take this a different direction, shall we? What about core powers?”

Danny settles back into his chair, and he furrows his brows in confusion. “What about them?”

“Your core powers make you unique among ghosts, let alone among humans. You can manipulate the temperature of water in the air, yes?”

“I can freeze stuff. It’s not all that special.”

“Oh, but it _is,_ Daniel. Imagine - you can create an ice rink in seconds that would take machinery days to replicate. You can keep perishables frozen in long haul trucking using only the power of your own body. You can create ice sculptures that last far longer that anything made by more human hands. You can-”

“-build a ski resort?”

“Yes! _Precisely!_ The opportunities are quite limitless-” Vlad looks _too_ gleeful.

“But I’d be at risk of revealing myself every time.”

“You are already always _at risk_. You asked about taking advantage of your powers,” Vlad says firmly, gesturing with his arms at the room around them, “this is taking advantage of your powers.”

“I’ll think about it. I never really loved art, but if I sell the sculptures, nobody really has to see me _create_ them...”

“That’s the spirit! But don’t do something you won’t enjoy. That doesn’t make you feel fulfilled. It will only make things worse for you in the long run.”

“So I have to find the _perfect career_ that makes me happy? Great, no pressure.” Danny rocks his head into his hands. This is harder than he thought. At least Vlad’s _trying_ to be helpful.

“Not necessarily. But your first career - especially fresh out of high school - should be something you can stick with so that you can use that experience to get the job you really want in the future.”

“ _Uggh._ ” Now Danny’s just worried.

“You asked for my help.”

“I _know_. I just...”

“What about construction? Low risk of exposing your powers, well paying, is suited to the advantages ghost strength allows you, and easy to find an entry level position?”

“I know _nothing_ about building houses, Vlad.”

“You don’t need to. There’s employee training for that. Just... consider it. I’m not going to be able to give you an answer right away-” which, Danny realizes, is exactly what he’d been hoping for, “-but I can give you options, and you can try them or reject them immediately. It’s up to you.” Vlad sounds a little frustrated at this point. Danny tries to be better.

“And regular powers?”

Vlad blinks, re-centering himself in the conversation. “I- at one point I considered working in a field like security.”

“ _Security? Seriously?_ ”

Vlad just shrugs. “It pays well, and our heightened senses and intangibility give us an edge. Not over ghosts, mind you, but over human burglars and attackers certainly. Similarly, intangibility would allow you a lot of freedom in mining and collecting. You would literally be able to find things no one else would.”

Danny thinks about that. Then he screws up his face in disgust. “I can’t see you as a miner at _all_.”

“Oh, I never considered it as a viable career option for me, only as a possible alternative revenue source.”

Right, whatever that means, Mr. Rich Pants.

“And of course,” Vlad adds, looking pensively towards the window, “you could always work for the Guys In White. You seemed quite chummy with them, if I recall.” And okay, Vlad’s not over the little ‘prank’ Danny pulled with the GIW and the Wisconsin mansion, but that’s just uncalled for.

“The _Guys in White?_ You can’t be serious.”

“We both know they’re too absorbed in their red tape to notice you under their noses. You know more about ghosts than their best agents. They’re _technically_ helping people,” though neither Danny nor Vlad really believe that, “and your existing combat abilities would transfer over flawlessly.”

“Yeah, but really? The GIW? They’re irritating idiots.”

“Nevertheless, the agency would give you the credentials to take a highly paying government or security job anywhere else in the United States, and you’re a shoe-in for early promotion given your background.”

“Which they can’t know about.”

“Yes, which they can’t know about,” Vlad admits with a sigh and aborted eye roll.

“Huh.” It might just work. Danny knows he couldn’t stay there forever, but Vlad has a good point. It might make a good stepping stone. He’d have to be extremely careful, but he’d still be catching ghosts, _and_ he’d get _paid_ for it. Suddenly the GIW don’t seem so bad.

“Although,” Vlad interrupts Danny’s musing, on the verge of a chuckle, “you could always enter the entertainment business,” Vlad adds, jokingly.

Danny doesn’t like where this is going. “What do you mean?” he asks skeptically.

“Remember Frederich Isak Showenhower?”

_Oh,_ does Danny remember Freakshow. He remembers almost letting Sam die. He remembers being brainwashed into stealing gold and jewelry. He remembers that _dick_ trying to kill his parents. He remembers the world finding out he’s Danny Phantom and the hell that brought on his head.

Above his notice, Danny’s eyes have taken on an angry glowing green hue. Danny levels his eyes on Vlad, and speaks low, dangerously, “if you even _think_ that I’m ever going to-”

But Vlad’s hands are already up. “No, no, it was only a joke, no need for the scary eyes. I was just-” Vlad pauses. “Although.”

“Although _what._ ”

“Did you know I do yoga?”

That seemingly random comment shocks Danny out of his anger long enough for his eyes to fade back to their normal sky blue. “Yoga? Why?”

“I’ll show you. Stand up.”

Still skeptical, Danny raises out of his armchair just after Vlad. The older halfa just mutters a quiet “watch” and _drops into a perfect backbend. Woah._

“How did you-” Danny asks incredulously

“Shh, my boy. There’s more.”

Vlad’s eyes glow slightly more pink than usual, enough that Danny’s ghost sense goes off, but not enough to make him wary of a ‘laser eyes’ shot to the face. Vlad takes in what looks to be a steadying breath, closes his eyes, and then _sticks his head through his legs, lifts his arms off the ground and wraps them around his thighs._

“Dude. What the hell. There’s _no way-”_

“You’re right.” Vlad’s eyes open - they’re still glowing pinkish red from the iris. “I’m not usually this flexible. But if I use just enough of my powers, control my limbs with energy instead of muscle, I can form any shape.”

“You’re freaking me out man. Go back to normal. _Please._ ” And that might be only the second time Danny’s every used the word _please_ on Vlad Masters.  

Vlad rolls his glowing eyes, but obeys, thankfully. When he straightens to full height again, he deliberately blinks again, and his eyes return to cerulean blue.

“You’d have to wear contacts, I’m sure, but it’s the same technique you use to create a spectral tail, and I suspect it would only take you a matter of weeks to learn.”

“You seriously think I’d fit in with a circus?”

Vlad pauses mid-step on his way back to his armchair, Danny still standing. “Actually, I don’t think it has to be a circus. It could be stuntwork, as an amusement park actor, modeling, or-”

“Or what?”

Vlad just smiles, and turns all the way to face Danny. It’s an evil smile, that one Vlad gets when he thinks his plan is going to work. Spoiler alert: it _never does_.

“I have an idea. You might hate it. But there’s almost zero risk of your powers being revealed, it pays better than anything I know other than big business and _cheating_ , as you say, and you’d have an edge over anyone else in the industry.”

That sounds- too good to be true. Before Danny can ask what it is, there’s a knock at the door.

“Mr. Mayor,” a woman in her sweet sounding Customer Voice says, “your 4:30 is here to see you. Should I show them in?”

“Just a moment!” Vlad calls back. He’s dashing to the desk, same evil grin on his face, and scribbling something on a piece of paper. He dashes back over to Danny and hands him the slip of paper. There’s an address and a time on it. Next Saturday at 1, and somewhere in Wisconsin he doesn’t recognize.

“Practice forming a spectral tail while in human form. It’s more energy than you’ll need to use, but it should help you get the basics right. I need to take this appointment, but meet me there next week. Use my portal if you need to,” Vlad rushes through his spiel, pushing Danny out the door with one hand on his shoulder blades.

“O-okay?”

“Great. See you there, my boy. Harriet! How are you, my dear? You look lovely.”

Danny stumbles out into the reception and comes to a stop just as Vlad lets the reporter inside and closes the door behind him. He looks back down at the paper again. There’s nothing about the address that gives away what it could be, and that whatever it is occurs on a Saturday doesn’t narrow it down very far either.

Danny resolves to look up the address on the internet when he gets home, and leaves City Hall to search for a private place to transform.

 


	2. Chapter 2

With the benefit of a few days between his meeting with Vlad and the mysterious Saturday event, Danny’s had the chance to prioritize his “career options.” At the moment, he’s leaning on construction or repairs, because working in the lab has given him some knowledge about how to use a drill and a screwdriver, and his lack of a fear of heights or falling gives him an edge. It’s not a very stable career, but he could work on high rises or bridges easily, and there’s always work there. With a little more thought, the GIW option seems too risky to consider really seriously.

What the time has not given him is a clue to what this mysterious thing he’s going to could possibly be. The address online lead him to some permanently closed Ballet studio, so that’s no help. Even flying through the ghost zone to Vlad’s portal on the Saturday - and isn’t it weird that he has Vlad’s permission to use his portal - he has no clue what he’s getting into. But, he figures, he can always leave. And if Vlad tries to stop him, well. Danny can handle that.

Even there, standing in front of the address five minutes early, Danny has no clue. The old dance studio’s logo has been painted over and replaced with a big cloth sign stating “Twisted Fitness - Anyone Can Learn!” The door is closed - the hours clearly printed on the glass include “Saturday - by appointment only.” Danny wonders how Vlad knew of the appointment ahead of time. Maybe it’s a recurring thing? The gym - and it has to be a gym, with a name like that, what else could it be? - is only a short drive or fly from the Wisconsin Mansion grounds.

Suddenly Danny picks up the sound of a car rolling down the otherwise deserted side street to stop behind him. He turns to observe the black town car and knows immediately it has to be Vlad’s.

Vlad steps out in an outfit Danny has only seen once before. The older halfa is almost never in anything other than a pristine suit, but back in the Pariah Dark incident Vlad had dressed down to help finish the ectosuit. Vlad’s wearing the same soft-looking copper polo and dark grey sweatpants - sans denim overalls.

It’s both giving Danny a sense of Deja-vu, and freaking him out. Vlad never looks anything less than proper. It makes Danny feel all off-balance. He hopes he’s dressed appropriately for -whatever they’re about to do. Since it’s a gym, maybe he’s teaching boxing lessons? Or, learning how to teach lessons. Or something.

“Ready, little badger?” Vlad asks, approaching Danny from the side as his town car speeds away.

“Ready for what? You still haven’t told me why we’re here.”

“Did you practice forming a spectral tail?”

“Yeah, but-”

“You’ll see. I’m sure you’ll find it extremely helpful.”

Vlad opens the door for him, and leads Danny inside. At first glance, it looks a lot more like a ballet studio than a gym.

At second glance...

Danny thought he was ready for anything. This, however, was not even on his radar.

The wood floor is traditional light maple, and the wall to wall mirrors are unsurprising. What Danny thought at first were structural columns for the room are actually poles. Like, fireman’s poles.

Or stripper poles.

“Vlad. What in the BLAZING HELL did you-”

“Language, little badger. All in due time.”

Danny’s irritated. No, he’s pissed off. Vlad lied. By omission, but he still mislead Danny. The ghost hero assumes he shouldn’t be surprised, but he is.

He’s still a little stuck on stripper poles.

Danny’s so stuck in his head flipping between Vlad’s imminent and constant betrayal and what the hell am I into and this seriously pays better than anything Vlad can think of and how do ghost powers fit into stripping for money that he doesn’t notice the teacher walk in.

He does, however, hear Vlad side whisper “eyes, Daniel, your eyes” to him which makes Danny realize that his eyes are glowing and he forces himself to relax.

“Mr. Masters! Vlad! Welcome back!”

“Thank you for taking us on such short notice, Bianca. This is my... nephew, Daniel.”

“Nephew? You’ve never mentioned any family, Mr. Silver Fox.”

Did she just? And Nephew? Well, Danny supposes, it’s better than ‘archenemy for life’ or ‘only other living member of my species’ or ‘son of best friend from college and woman I want to marry’ because, ew. Vlad opens his mouth, presumably to explain, but Danny cuts him off.

“Nephew’s close enough. I’m the son of a family friend. I figure I should mention I was dragged here on false pretenses.” Danny gets a red-tinged glare for that. “Nice to meet you...” Danny asks, sticking out his hand.

“Bianca,” the teacher says, and then she just laughs. She’s relatively short, compared to Danny and Vlad, probably Latina from what Danny can guess, and not at all what he expected from a stripper.

Not that he’d thought about it, not really. He didn’t have the chance to.

“You couldn’t possibly guess the number of people I get who come in here under false pretenses. Usually, however, they’re not here with an ex-student who I haven’t seen in a few years. Does the know the stories, Vlad?”

“Stories, plural?” Danny asks.

“There’s not much for you to know,” Vlad says, though his voice is strange, “I was brought here on a date once, and though the date didn’t stick with me the class certainly did. When I moved to Amity, I could no longer take the classes-” a white lie, Danny knows, but the alternative is not shareable, “-so I started doing yoga. Which is how this came up in conversation during last week’s meeting.”

“You know, you could have just told me.”

“Ah, but then you wouldn’t have come. Now, you’re here and your schedule is free, so you really have nothing better to do than try it, yes?”

Vlad is a sneaky, manipulative bastard, and Danny wonders why he ever thought otherwise. Even if it is, supposedly, for his own good.

Since Vlad’s right, Danny stays for the hour long session. It’s not nearly as awkward as he thought it would be (well, at first it totally was. After trying and failing to do splits in his jeans, Bianca comes back with some sweatpants for him to wear) and not at all sexual like he expected. Even Vlad being there wasn’t all that big a deal. Despite not getting along on a good day, it was almost nice to have someone else there with him besides the teacher. Someone who also screwed up sometimes and didn’t look perfect on the first try. Not to mention, when Bianca offhandedly commented that Danny must have inherited the same ‘supernatural flexibility’ as Vlad, and while Danny struggled to come up with some excuse, Vlad just casually says “we used to train together” which, like ‘nephew,’ is close enough. It might even be a sign that they’ve been getting along better lately.

Danny can’t say he’s not at least a little happy about that. It would be nice not to have to fight Vlad all the time. Old guy or not, he still has 20 years of experience over Danny.

At the end of the hour, he’s actually broken a sweat, which is kind of tough for someone who gets in knockdown drag out fights on the regular. Danny chalks it up to working out muscles he doesn’t normally use. And, if he’s being honest with himself, he actually kind of liked it. He likes exercise (when Sam isn’t the drill sergeant), and he loves showing off, and this fits well with the two. Once Danny can get over the “girly” part of it. Though Vlad being there - and being the one to suggest it - really did help with that. After all, if anyone was going to make fun of him for dancing it would be his archenemy. Or Dash.

Maybe he shouldn’t tell his friends.

“Bye Daniel! Bye Vlad! Hope to see you again sometime!” Bianca calls out as they head out the door.

As they stand on the street in companionable silence, Vlad presumably texting for his driver, Danny thinks about what he wants to do with this new information. He feels like he should thank Vlad for setting this up, and paying for it, but at the same time he’s not sure Vlad deserves the acknowledgement.

Screw it. He’s turning over a new leaf. “Hey Vlad?”

“Yes, Daniel? Did you enjoy the lesson?”

“Um. Yeah, actually. I just wanted to thank you for-”

“Think nothing of it. I’ve been meaning to return to this, and I already had the appointment scheduled. It is quite invigorating, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. And not as sexual as I expected it to be.”

“Mhm.” Vlad responds, still glued to his phone. He finally puts it away and glances back at Danny when the town car rumbles down the street. “Would you like a ride to the Mansion?”

Danny takes a moment to think about it. A half hour plus stuck in the posh backseat of a limo in his sweaty clothes and with a equally sweaty Vlad Masters? And ruin their uneasy peace? He’ll pass. “I think I’ll fly, thanks.”

Vlad shrugs and steps into the waiting car. “No matter.”

Danny watches the car speed away, and looks back at the studio. Maybe it wouldn’t be all that bad to take another few lessons, he thinks. Quickly scanning the street for other passersby and finding none, Danny silently transforms and takes to the sky.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next week, Danny tries some yoga poses he found online late at night. He still can’t do the crazy contortionist pose Vlad did in his office unless he’s transformed, but Danny likes to think that maybe he is more flexible.

Once, and only once, Danny looks up the studio to try and make an appointment, but it looks like Bianca’s all booked up except for the group classes, and like the coward he is, Danny doesn’t really want anyone else to see him dance. He tells himself it’s to lower the risk of anyone finding out about his powers, but he knows it’s because he doesn’t want other people to find out he likes it.

Vlad, of course, doesn’t count.

On a Wednesday, Danny calls Vlad’s office to schedule another appointment. He wants to ask Vlad if maybe he can pay him for the Saturday lessons. If Danny can take a part time job at the Nasty Burger for a few weeks, and skip the arcade for the next month, he just might be able to make it. He doesn’t want to do a garage sale, not after the last disaster with Technus.

“The Mayor’s Office, how may I he-” there’s a click and brief silence.

“Daniel? I have a moment. What is bothering you?” Vlad must have seen his number come up and grabbed the call. Danny doesn’t know what to think about the fact that Vlad knows his number by heart.

“I- I was wondering if I could take your Saturday lesson next weekend-”

“Well, it’s hardly mine, but of course.”

“Oh? I- I can pay for my half, I just wanted to-”

“Daniel. Please. Don’t worry about the money. Actually, you’d be doing me a favor- if you take the Saturday appointment regularly I don’t have to bother with rescheduling all the time. As long as I can still join you, of course.”

“Yeah! Sure. It was your idea, after all.”

“Mhm. I’m glad dancing suits you. I believed quite certainly that you would reject the idea on sight.”

“Well, I kind of did, but now I know that it’s just fun exercise, it doesn’t bother me that much.”

“And is that why you didn’t sign up for the group classes, and instead called me?”

“...”

“I thought as much. I don’t plan on telling anyone unless you ask, Daniel. Your interests are your own business.”

Danny laughs at how much has changed.

“What is so funny, my boy?”

“That it turns out, when it comes to me, you actually can be a gentleman. Thanks, V-man.”

Vlad sighs the sigh of the long-suffering on the other end of the line. “Please don’t call me that.” Vlad hangs up the line. Well. That went better than expected.

In fact, a lot of it goes better than expected. For the next several months until early spring, Danny spends his Saturday afternoons flying out to Wisconsin to take a lesson at Twisted Fitness. He tells Tucker and Sam that he’s doing a weekly check of the Ghost Zone, which isn’t a total lie. And if they meet up after, and Danny’s still a sweaty mess, they assume it’s because of a fight.

Vlad comes pretty rarely, but when he’s there he often offers Danny subtle advice about how to use his ghost powers to take the positions to the next level. “Concentrate on filling your hip joints with energy,” he’d say, or, “You could give yourself a push so you don’t fall as quickly.” Bianca always gives them this look, like she’s wondering why Vlad seems to be doing the teaching when he’s not the one that comes in every week, but she never says anything about it. Probably because she notices that it does actually work- Vlad slyly mentioning a way of applying his powers he hasn’t thought about actually does make Danny better. After five or six sessions, Danny’s using enough of his powers that his eyes glow through most of the routine. Danny of course isn’t the one who notices.

On a Monday after a session where Vlad did actually show up, a package arrives at the Fenton house.

“Danny, did you order anything online lately?” Jazz asks, standing in the archway of Danny’s bedroom. He quickly closes his laptop. He was looking up yoga poses, but still. Jazz is really perceptive. And talkative.

“No? Why are you asking?”

“This came for you. No idea who it’s from, though,” Jazz says, tossing him a package and walking back into the hallway.

Danny catches the box and reads the label. It’s definitely addressed to him, thought it says “Daniel” instead of “Danny.” The return address reads Dalv Incorporated and an address in Colorado. Definitely from Vlad, then.

Danny decides to take the safe route and phases the box so the contents fall on his bedspread rather than opening the box and triggering whatever booby trap might be inside.

With Vlad, even as things are, you can never be too careful.

The box contains a little squeeze bottle of something, a plastic thing that looks like two giant breath mints stuck together, and a folded sticky note which reads: “Daniel- I doubt Bianca noticed, but you can never be too careful. -V”

The pompous ass didn’t even sign his whole name, but Danny guesses he shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

After fiddling with the giant breath mints, Danny figures out that they’re actually like bottlecaps and unscrews one. There’s a small blue contact lens inside.

After several failed attempts, a swollen red eye, a phone call to Tucker, and two online tutorials, Danny finally gets the contact into his eye. Comparing his right and left, the colors are actually pretty similar. Enough that you wouldn’t really tell unless you were looking for it.

Danny forces himself to bring his powers to the forefront without transforming, and sure enough one eye glows and the other looks totally normal. Danny resolves to tell Vlad thanks at whatever session he comes to next - because they aren’t fighting anymore, not really. The only times Danny ever sees Plasmius is in the ghost zone, and usually he’s just traveling, and waves to Danny as he goes by.

It’s a little surreal, but better than the alternative by a mile.

A couple months in, Danny almost gets caught. He meets up with Tucker and Sam to go to a movie on a late Saturday afternoon, and didn’t have the time to shower before. The movie was great, just the right amount of scary and funny, and it felt like old times with his friends, who were both already pretty settled in what they wanted to do with their lives. Sam was already admitted early to her first choice school in New York, and Tucker was still waiting on his regular application results, but was a total shoe-in for MIT. They’re not totally happy with him not applying with them, but he just shrugged when they ask and said he’s still thinking about community college. It’s an old conversation with them. His friends have learned to just let it go.

“Danny? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, Sam. Great, even. What’s up?”

“You eyes. They look different somehow.” Which is how Danny figures out he left his contacts in. Before he could come up with a reason why he decided to wear colored contacts for seemingly no reason, or Tucker could mention the strange phone call from weeks ago, Danny’s ghost sense went off.

Saved by the bell. Thank God.

It turned out to be Johnny 13 taking a joyride with Kitty on a nearby street and nearly causing several accidents. It didn’t cause him too much trouble to trap them, but he did wreck a couple of cars in the process, which made him feel kinda bad.

In March, while Danny’s fighting Ember and the whole town (minus Vlad, wherever he is) is under some sort of musical trance, Danny dodges Ember’s blasts in a move that might possibly be a result of his pole dancing lessons.

“Nice moves, Baby-pop! Shake that thang!” She calls with a whistle, which makes Danny distinctly uncomfortable, except that he knows no one but him and Ember will remember this. Danny might as well take advantage of his flexibility while he can use it.

In May, when Danny’s finally 18 and his friends are both set to attend college in the fall, and high school feels almost easier, Bianca offers him a job.

“You could teach here, you know. You’ve learned faster than almost anyone I’ve ever seen.” And he has. Not just because of his ghost powers, but because it’s fun and he likes it. Kind of like, physical puns. Sort of. He’s less afraid now of ‘performing’ in front of other people, because he’s good. He gets to show off. The muscles he’s grown into are less bulky and more lithe, now. He’s not all punch and no dodge. Regular exercise has made his ghost fights easier, made Gym class easier, made Danny less self conscious about his body.

He thinks he might be ready. Not for a strip club, God no, but for this? Yeah.

“Can I start in the summer?”

“Of course.”

When Danny gets home that day, he calls Vlad’s private number. It picks up on the second ring.

“Yes?”

“Bianca offered me a job.”

“Well that’s wonderful. Is that what you want?”

Danny thinks about it. He thinks about how far he’s come. About how he’s no longer the only ghost hunter in Amity. About his friends, leaving in less than 4 months to colleges on the other side of the country. About Vlad falling into politics and trying to take over the world the ‘hard work’ way (he’s not fooling Danny. Mayor is just step one on his way to the presidency).

“I think so. I mean, if I change my mind, I can always still do community college, right?”

“It will mean that you’ll have to tell your parents where you’re moving. They’ll want to know every detail.”

“I’ve been lying to them so long it won’t matter,” Danny says quietly, though he does still feel guilty, “and I can always make up some story about how I found a great job opportunity through you.”

“Hm, yes, and I could cover you for that. Or you could tell them the truth, and feel less guilty.”

“The whole truth?” Danny asks incredulously. This sounds nothing like the Vlad he knows.

“No, God no, Daniel, there’s many a reason that we hide our true selves. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned over this time we’ve spent actually tolerating each other’s company, it is that you feel bad when you lie. Finding a career you enjoy, that makes you happy and gives you purpose, is not such a bad thing. Even if it is pole dancing.”

“Yeah, but-”

“What could they possibly say? You can do more with your life? You’re above it? That it isn’t you? You know the truth. You know how challenging and enjoyable it is. That is all that matters.”

“They’re my parents, Vlad.”

“And this is where we are different, Daniel. Why would you trust their opinion above your own? Hold their values above yours?”

“I- I don’t-”

“And your friends? Do they still not know where you go every Saturday? If they are important people in your life, and they are true friends, they will stick with you no matter what you say or what happens in your life.” Danny can hear Vlad choke up a bit. Flounder on the words. It comes to Danny suddenly that Vlad doesn’t have any real friends. The last ones he ever had-

“I’m sorry Vlad,” Danny says quietly.

“For what, little badger?” Vlad breathes out, clearly done with the line of conversation.

“For my parents abandoning you. For the hospital incident. For-”

“Water under the bridge. And, after all, not your fault. Let’s talk about this later, shall we? I’m very happy for you, and-”

“For not giving you a second chance.” Danny interrupts, and tries to sound firmer than he feels.

There’s a short pause, where Danny thinks Vlad might have hung up. “You already have.” Vlad says quietly.

Danny hears a click.

 

 


End file.
